Thrillers and Throwbacks

I’m a huge fan of Jon L. Breen’s recap of the best crime and mystery novels of 2009. Breen displays a magisterial command over the genre’s canon, and, along the way, he helps less knowledgeable readers such as myself sort out the wheat from the chaff: Few writers today attempt the . . . . Continue Reading »

On Your Inner Israel

And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him till the morning.  And he saw that he prevailed not against him; and he touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh was benumbed in his wrestling with him.  And he said to him, Let me go, for the day . . . . Continue Reading »

ELCA Splits After Gay Pastor Vote

First the Episcopalians, and now the Lutherans . . . The split over gay clergy within the country’s largest Lutheran denomination has prompted a conservative faction to begin forming a new Lutheran church body separate from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Leaders of Lutheran CORE . . . . Continue Reading »

Let the Show Trial Commence

The recent debate about whether the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be held in New York City has overshadowed the question of whether the trial should even be held by a federal criminal court rather than by a military tribunal. The obvious answer, as indicated by a recent exchange between . . . . Continue Reading »

What Kind of Prophet Am I?

Each fall the CBC asks me to predict what will happen in the coming year in bioethics/biotechnology. To say the least, I have a mixed record.  I was more worried about 2009 than turned out to be warranted by events especially about assisted suicide which moved the ball not at all in the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Cheapening of Baptism

. . . is somewhat inevitable in the customer-driven church. Isn’t it?This was in a recent email newsletter sent by a church from my past:“While you only need to be baptized once, if you’d like to reaffirm your commitment to God we encourage you to participate in baptism . . . . Continue Reading »